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Accused cop worked bomb case at home of his female accuser

A Grand Junction police officer who was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault went to the home of his accuser five times over the span of two days, in what became an investigation involving explosives at the home, according to an arrest affidavit.

Glenn Coyne and another officer were initially called to the woman’s home on Sept. 27 to intervene in a disturbance involving her 16-year-old son. The affidavit said the officers later learned the boy and a friend had been accused of making unspecified explosives in a backyard shed.

Coyne returned three more times the same evening on Sept. 27; he made a fifth trip to the home around 1 a.m. on Sept. 28.

“(Woman) felt Coyne could have returned to her residence for follow-up at a more appropriate time,” the affidavit said.

The woman said Coyne made several sexual innuendos during the contacts, at one point asking her how well she does handling her children.

“(Woman) said she didn’t realize it until later ... that Coyne was flirting with her,” the affidavit said.

Coyne’s arrest affidavit was unsealed Friday by District Judge Richard Gurley after The Daily Sentinel sought a court order earlier this week to make the document public.

Coyne, 35, was found dead Oct. 6 at a hotel room in Golden after an apparent suicide, which was five days after he was arrested and fired on suspicion of first-degree burglary and first-degree sexual assault.

According to the affidavit, Coyne called the woman at 2:45 p.m. on Sept. 28, asking her follow-up questions about the incident involving her son.

Those events are in conflict with what authorities said at the time of Coyne’s arrest. Authorities initially said it was the woman who contacted Coyne on Sept. 28, asking for additional assistance.

The affidavit said the woman thought Coyne’s Sept. 28 phone call was strange.

“(Woman) knew she had previously provided the information (on her son) and felt Coyne was looking for an excuse to contact her,” the affidavit said.

Coyne asked her if she wanted him to stop by, and she agreed, believing it was about her son and that he would visit, “during normal daytime or early evening hours,” the affidavit said.

The alleged assault happened Sept. 29, between midnight and 1 a.m., according to the affidavit.

Authorities initially said the assault happened after Coyne went off duty around 1 a.m. Interim Grand Junction Police Chief John Camper last month offered a revised time frame, saying the officer’s shift ended at midnight.

The woman said she was in her kitchen and had left her front door open to allow fresh air inside. She said she heard a voice behind her, which startled her.

“When she turned around, Glenn Coyne was standing in the kitchen,” the affidavit said. “(Woman) said she did not invite Coyne into the residence, and he did not knock prior to entering.”

Coyne immediately started talking about her son’s case, the affidavit said.

They walked into a living room, sat down on a couch, where the woman alleged Coyne “jumped” her. At one point, the officer had the woman’s hands forced behind her in a handcuffed position as he sexually assaulted her, the affidavit said.

Afterward, he had a warning for her: “Remember what I said, if you talk about police officers, they have connections,” the affidavit said.

A medical evaluation on Sept. 29 found evidence of sexual trauma on the woman’s body, as well as bruises on her arms, thighs, knees, lower back and abdomen.

The injuries were consistent with the events the woman described to a Mesa County Sheriff’s Department investigator, the affidavit said.

The next day, sheriff’s investigators had the woman place a phone call to Coyne, which was recorded. When she confronted him, Coyne said the sex was consensual. Coyne acknowledged coming to the home early Sept. 29, to have “fun,” the affidavit said.

He repeated the same denials when interviewed by investigators on Oct. 1, calling the allegations “wild,” the affidavit said. Coyne was arrested at the end of the interview.

“Coyne stated several times he had consensual sex with her,” the affidavit said.